The US Federal Reserve (Fed) is keeping interest rates unchanged, as expected. The central bank announced this in a press release after its first monetary policy meeting in 2026. The announcement comes after the central bank has cut interest rates three times in a row.
According to Philip Jagd, head of equities at Sampension, the decision not to cut interest rates further is unlikely to be welcomed by US President Donald Trump.
- Powell (the central bank governor, ed.) is, to put it mildly, not in the president's good graces, who does not miss an opportunity to put pressure on the central bank governor to lower interest rates, most recently via an absurd subpoena from the Department of Justice, he says in a written comment.
US President Donald Trump has long expressed a desire to remove Powell from his post as central bank governor. Earlier in January, Powell announced that the Fed has received subpoenas and threats of criminal charges.
Powell is accused of having provided misleading information to Congress during congressional hearings in June 2025, which dealt with a renovation of the Fed's headquarters.
New man on the way as central bank chairman
Powell's term as central bank chairman expires in May, and Trump is expected to soon point to his replacement.
According to Natalia Setlak, who is a chief analyst, Rick Rieder is among the big favorites for the post, although he cannot be described as "Trump's man". She describes it as a choice that, despite Trump's criticism of Powell, "does not immediately challenge the notion of the independence of the central bank".
Stephen Miran, however, can. He was nominated to the Fed's interest rate committee last year and is seen as "a more political appointment," according to Setlak.
- Trump has made it clear that he wants more aggressive interest rate cuts and has repeatedly made direct attacks on Powell, she says in a written comment, adding:
- Therefore, there has long been an underlying fear that he will use the nomination to try to get "his man" in as chairman of the Fed.
/ritzau/
Text, graphics, images, sound, and other content on this website are protected under copyright law. DK Medier reserves all rights to the content, including the right to exploit the content for the purpose of text and data mining, cf. Section 11b of the Copyright Act and Article 4 of the DSM Directive.
Customers with IP agreements/major customer agreements may only share Danish Offshore Industry articles internally for the purpose of handling specific cases. Sharing in connection with specific cases refers to journaling, archiving, or similar uses.
Customers with a personal subscription/login may not share Danish Offshore Industry articles with individuals who do not themselves have a personal subscription to Danish Offshore Industry.
Any deviation from the above requires written consent from DK Medier.
